Protection
by Skovko
Summary: Someone's making death threats against Dean, and Stephanie has sent him to talk to a man who can help keep him safe. The man puts his trusted employee Annabelle on the task, something that Dean really isn't happy with. How can a girl keep him alive? He soon finds out that she has every intention of doing her job, she doesn't take any bullshit from him and she's deadly with a knife.
1. Don't touch my knife

Dean stopped outside the door. He didn't like this, he didn't want this. He was only there because Stephanie had demanded him to. He was a firm believer in dealing with his own problems but this problem was getting too big and wouldn't go away. He knew he needed help although he wasn't ready to admit it. He lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" A male voice shouted.

He entered and was greeted by two faces, a male and a female. The male stood behind the desk and was clearly the guy he was sent there to talk to but his eyes went to the female. A young girl in a school girl outfit sitting on his side of the desk, just watching him silently.

"Dean Ambrose?" The man asked, forcing Dean to look at him.  
"The one and only," Dean answered.  
"I'm Sam but I guess you already knew that," Sam said.  
"Yeah, Stephanie told me your name. I'm sorry, is it bring your daughter to work day or something?" Dean asked as his eyes wandered back to the girl.

Sam laughed and sat down.

"This is Annabelle. She'll be working close to you," he said.  
"A kid? Really?" Dean asked.  
"She's not a kid. She just have a very youthful face. She's 23," Sam said.  
"And what exactly do you expect her to do for me?" Dean asked.  
"Keep you alive," Sam answered.

Dean laughed as he looked at Sam in disbelief. Sam didn't laugh though. His facial expression was very serious. Dean looked at Annabelle that hadn't said anything yet and she looked serious too. His laughter died out and he felt kind of awkward.

"I chose Annabelle because of her youthful appeareance. You got quite the reputation, mr Ambrose," Sam said.  
"Meaning?" Dean asked.  
"Meaning that everyone knows how you are around the ladies. You're gonna tell everyone that Annabelle is your latest obsession that you're keeping around for a little while. A fangirl completely in awe of you and being brought along on a little trip with her idol," Sam said.  
"She doesn't look a day over 16. They'll put my ass in jail," Dean tried.  
"Just tell everyone she's 18 and legal," Sam said.  
"And how exactly is she gonna keep me alive?" Dean asked.  
"She has her ways," Sam said with a warm smile.

Dean drummed his fingers on his collarbone as he thought it through quickly.

"No, no way. A girl can't protect me," he said.  
"Don't pull the sexist card here. Annabelle is one of my most trustworthy employees," Sam said.  
"No, I won't have it," Dean said and turned to walk away.

Sam looked at Annabelle with a smile and nodded. She got to her feet, reached around her back and pulled out a knife she had hidden there. Dean was just about to open the door and leave as the knife was thrown and stuck into the wall right next to his face. He looked at it, his eyes growing wide, and then he turned around to see her standing up.

"What the hell? You threw a knife at my head?" He yelled.  
"No, I threw it next to your head. If I wanted it to end in your head, trust me, you wouldn't be speaking to me right now," she said.

He was taken back by her dark, exotic voice. That wasn't how he had expected her to sound. He thought she had a light tone but that couldn't be further from the truth. He didn't like it but her voice alone crawled down his spine.

He turned back around and reached his hand up towards the knife.

"Don't touch my knife!" She sneered.

He stopped. Normally he wouldn't take orders from anyone but there was something in her tone that made him know that this knife would probably end up inside him somehow if he dared touching it. Instead he just stood there as she walked over and pulled it out of the wall herself.

"Don't ever touch my knife," she said calmly as she hid it behind her back again.

Sam cleared his throat and they both turned their heads to look at him.

"As I was saying, Annabelle is perfect for the job. She'll keep you safe and figure out who's been sending you those threats," he said.

Dean sighed, knowing he couldn't win this. It didn't even matter if he walked away. Stephanie had made it perfectly clear that he didn't have a choice in this.

"Fine, she can come," he finally gave in.  
"You got a car waiting outside?" Sam asked.  
"No, I took a cap here," Dean answered.

Sam opened a drawer and threw a set of carkeys to Annabelle.

"Keep him safe," he said.  
"Always," she said.

She sat silently behind the wheel while he was watching her. Normally he welcomed silence but around her it made him feel awkward. He thought to turn on the radio but wasn't sure if she'd allow it. It was clear that she was gonna be in charge of this situation and as much as he hated to submit to anything or anyone, he knew he was pulling the short straw here.

"So, Anna is it? Or do you prefer Belle?" He asked.  
"Annabelle," she answered.  
"Can you make out a full sentence, sweetheart?" He asked, cracking a little smile at her.  
"Annabelle!" She said more firmly.  
"Relax, doll, I'm just trying to make friendly conversation here," he said.

She pulled over and before he knew it, she was turned against him in her seat, one hand around his throat and her other hand behind her back. He didn't need to ask what it was doing back there. He knew she had her hand locked around the shaft of the knife, ready to pull it if he did any wrong move. He knew he could probably take her down in a fist fight but he had already seen what she could do with a knife and he really didn't wanna find out what else she could. So he did nothing. He just looked at her, waiting for her to move or talk.

"It's Annabelle! Not Anna, not Belle, not sweetheart or doll or any other disgusting pet name you can come up with. Annabelle!" Her voice was firm and didn't leave room for questions.  
"Annabelle," he repeated to assure her he got the message.

She let go off his throat, turned in her seat and started driving again.

"Mind if I turn on the radio?" He tried.  
"Don't," she answered.

He sat back, still annoyed by the silence. This girl was getting to him in ways he wasn't sure if he liked or not, ways he had never experienced before. He knew he was in for a hell of a ride.


	2. You can call me whatever you want in bed

They sat in silence in the dark car. She had pulled into the parking lot and turned off the engine and he could see she quickly did a scan of the area. Nothing would go past her attention.

"All clear?" He asked amused.

She turned to look at him.

"Mr Ambrose, I need you to take this serious. Someone is after you and we have no idea who it is or if he or she is gonna make good on those threats. Worst case scenario, someone is really out to kill you. You need to get that into your head," she said.

He drummed his collarbone. He knew she was right but it was just so hard for him to give into the idea of someone really wanting to hurt him. As long as he goofed around, the threat stayed as a joke - a mean joke but still a joke - in his head and weren't real. He knew he couldn't keep kidding himself like that.

"I know," he finally said in a low tone.  
"I'm gonna do everything I can to keep you safe. I don't care if you like me or not. All you have to do is trust me," she said.  
"It takes a lot for me to trust anybody but I trust your skills with that knife after the stunt you pulled back in the office," he said.

A small chuckle followed his words as he thought back to the knife being thrown right next to his face. Here he was receiving death threats almost on a daily basis yet she was the one getting this close to actually killing him and he had to put his trust in her. Somehow he knew he could. Whoever was out to get him sure would get a fight if he or she crossed paths with her and her knife.

"So tell me, mr Ambrose, how do you usually treat your girls in front of your friends?" She asked.  
"Oh, you're not gonna like that part," he said and smirked.  
"Just tell me, mr Ambrose. We need this to run as normal as it can so no one suspects anything," she said.  
"I like to show off that I got someone who will allow me to basically do anything to them so I kiss, touch and grab and call them some of those pet names you find disgusting," he said.  
"You do that and I'll play along. Just remember once we're behind closed doors, it's hands off," she said.  
"Right. One other thing though. Maybe you should call me Dean instead of mr Ambrose. I think people will find it weird," he said.  
"Really? You're not into some funny kink like that?" She asked.

She cracked a smile at him. It was the first time he saw her smile and he couldn't help but smile back at her. So she did own a sense of humour and she did know how to flirt a bit. Maybe she wasn't as bad as he first thought.

"Oh honey, you can call me whatever you like in bed," he said.  
"Mr Ambrose!" She warned.

He held up his hands and smirked.

"Just showing you a hint of what's gonna happen once we go inside," he defended himself.

They got out of the car and walked towards the hotel. It was like being a part of a magic show when he saw the transformation in her. She was all professional, watching everything as they crossed the parking lot but the moment they walked through the doors to the lobby, she clinged to his arm and giggled, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes, almost making him believe that she was a fangirl who wanted him. He grinned at her and placed a kiss on her cheek as he saw AJ Styles standing close by. Might as well get things started right away.

"Who have you got there?" AJ asked.  
"This is Annabelle. I picked her up at the mall today. She's gonna come along for a couple of days," Dean answered.  
"Cute," AJ said and winked at her.

She blushed and giggled.

"Are we gonna go to your room, Dean?" She asked and tugged on his arm.  
"Of course, doll," he said and grabbed her ass as they walked towards the elevator.

The moment they walked into his hotel room, she did the magic trick once again and she was back to being the professional Annabelle. He didn't mind though. Somehow he actually liked this one, the real her, better than the drooling fangirl. He already had so many fangirls that he couldn't tell them apart but he knew for sure he'd always remember Annabelle even though he'd only known her for an hour.

She sat down on the couch and took out a stack of papers from her bag.

"What's that?" He asked.  
"Names of all employees in the WWE along with dates of who was working the days you received threats. I got a lot of work ahead of me," she answered.

He sat down next to her and looked at the top paper. It all seemed very confusing to him. He spotted the names of his best friends and pointed to them.

"You can delete those two already," he said.  
"Roman and Seth? Why?" She asked.  
"They're my best friends and I have known them for years. It's definately not them," he answered.  
"Even more reason for me to look into them. You might be right, I really hope that you are because you need people you can trust right now, but I'm an outsider and I will look at everyone with a pair of fresh eyes and I might see something you don't," she said.  
"I'm telling you, it's not them," he said annoyed.  
"I hope you're right," she said.

He didn't feel like arguing with her so he got up and started walking towards the bedroom.

"I'm going to bed," he said.

She got up and followed him inside the bedroom.

"What are you doing?" He asked, suddenly feeling more amused than annoyed.  
"I'm going to bed," she answered.  
"With me?" He asked and smirked.  
"Don't get any funny ideas, mr Ambrose. I'm just here to keep you safe, even in bed," she said.

He stripped down to his boxers and laid down. She had her back against him as she got out of the school girl uniform. He bit his lip by the sight of her in her underwear. She was hot. She removed the knife and put it on the nightstand, her eyes catching his the moment she did.

"Are you watching me, mr Ambrose?" She asked.  
"Research. I gotta be able to tell about you when the guys ask in the morning," he lied.  
"I thought you would be good at making up stuff," she said.  
"I prefer the truth," he said as his eyes wandered down her body again, wanting to see her now she had her front towards him.

He didn't get to take a full look as she turned off the lamp on the nightstand and left the room in darkness. He felt how she crawled down in bed next to him. He laid on his back with open eyes, trying to see the ceiling through the darkness.

"Annabelle?" He asked.  
"Yeah?" She answered.  
"I knew you would be easy to get into bed," he said and started laughing.

To his surprise she laughed too.

"Goodnight, mr Ambrose," she said as their laughter died out.  
"Dean. Please, call me Dean," he said.  
"I thought you said I could call you whatever I like in bed," she said with a chuckle.


	3. What the hell was that?

Dean was surprised to find himself alone in the bed next morning. He normally didn't sleep long, 5-6 hours max, so her sleeping pattern had to be worse than his. He got up, yawned and walked out to find her seated on the couch, all dressed in the schoolgirl uniform and working her way through the papers she had shown him the night before.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked.  
"I slept," she answered.  
"Not very long," he said as he dumped down next to her.  
"Three hours. That's normal for me. I've been working the last two hours and so far these are the names that are safe," she said and handed him a paper with a bunch of names written down. "You were right about your two friends. They're both in the clear."  
"Told you," he said.  
"Just doing my job, mr Ambrose," she said.

A knock on the door made them both look in the direction of it. Dean was about to get up to open when she grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Call out," she said.

He nodded.

"Who is it?" He called.

No answer.

"Stay!" She ordered.

Her tone got even lower and there was something in it that made him stay where he was, too scared to move and too thrilled about seeing what she would do. She made her way over to the door, one hand behind her back holding on to the knife while the other hand slowly opened the door and looked out. No one was there. She opened the door up wide and looked to both sides. The hallway was empty but an envelope was lying on the floor in front of the door. She picked it up and went back inside.

"Wanna read it yourself?" She asked as she held it out for him.

He shook his head. He knew what it would say. The words might not be the same but the message was. Someone wanted to kill him. She opened it, read it and slowly nodded.

"You okay?" She asked him.  
"I'm used to it," he answered.  
"That doesn't mean you're okay," she said.  
"I don't wanna lie to you so please stop asking," he said.

She just nodded in agreement. He was surprised. He wasn't used to women backing off when it came to wanting to know how he felt. He normally would have liked it but with her it was different. He actually wanted her to ask again but she did as he had said.

"I'm gonna go to the gym," he said, hoping a workout would take his mind off everything.  
"I'm coming with you," she said.

He gave her a look but she shut him down before he could even open his mouth to argue.

"It's not up for debate, mr Ambrose. Where you go, I go," she said.  
"Care to join me in the bathroom for a piss before we leave then?" He asked and twisted a smile.  
"You're a big boy. I'm pretty sure you know how to hold it yourself," she said and gave him the same kind of smile.  
"Yeah, but as you just said, I'm a big boy. It can get heavy to lift," he said and winked before walking out to the bathroom, leaving her speechless.

She sat in the gym and watched as he did his workout with Roman and Seth. She made sure to play the part as the drooling fangirl but her eyes were constantly watching everyone around them and Dean knew it. To others she was nothing but a fan but to him she was already so much more. She was his protecter and dare he say it... his friend? At least he'd like to somehow get more into her life. He shook his head. It hadn't even been 24 hours and she was getting under his skin way too fast and way too easy.

"She's kinda cute," Roman said as they all three watched her looking at Dean again.  
"I don't complain," Dean said.  
"How is she in bed?" Seth asked.  
"She... ehm... she..." Dean tried but suddenly found it hard to lie.  
"No way! You didn't do it. You didn't nail her. I never thought I'd live to see the day where you wouldn't bang your latest toy on the first night," Seth laughed.  
"It's different this time," Dean tried.  
"My my, I think our boy here has finally found someone he has a soft spot for," Roman chuckled.  
"Just shut up," Dean growled, making both Roman and Seth laugh out loud.

Dean felt a slight change in her behaviour on their way home. It wasn't much, no one else would probably ever have noticed, but he noticed. Something was off. She played her part, held his hand, played with his fingers, giggled and drooled all the way up till he closed the door behind them.

"What the hell was that?" She let out.

Okay, at least she wasn't gonna keep whatever bothered her within. Another nice trade for a woman that most of those he picked up seemed to lack.

"What was what?" He asked confused.  
"Back in the gym. I heard your conversation. You're supposed to lie and tell them how you fucked me good or whatever you usually say," she said.  
"It just didn't feel right," he said and sighed.  
"Give me a break! You're known to fuck anything that walks on two legs without  
ever thinking about right and wrong but a little white lie about me doesn't feel right?" She questioned him.  
"I don't expect you do understand," he said and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.  
"Then make me!" She shouted.  
"I'm attracted to you!" He shouted back.

As soon as the words were out in the open, his hand went up to cover his mouth. He didn't want to say that, he didn't want her to know. She stared at him as if she didn't believe him before finally taking a step back.

"I'm gonna call Sam and make him send someone else," she finally said.  
"No, please, don't. I like you. I want you to work on this for me. I promise to stay completely professional. It's just... I trust you, alright? And I don't trust easy," he said.  
"It's not that. I have to be professional too and it doesn't matter how much I try to distance myself by calling you by your last name. It's a fucking time bomb if we stay together with all this chemestry between us," she said.

He started smiling as he realized what she was actually saying. He slowly walked over to her.

"You find me attractive too," he said.

He reached her and took her hand, slowly letting his fingers run up her arm, sending goosebumbs down her entire body.

"Mr Ambrose..." She tried but he silenced her as he let his thumb run over her lips.  
"Don't speak," he said and moved his finger.  
"Dean..." She whispered.  
"I said, don't speak," he repeated himself before leaning in to kiss her.

From there it went fast. He didn't realize how helpless he had felt since the death threats had begun. He hadn't been in charge of his life for a while now and with her stepping into it the day before, he had been forced to allow her to run everything, but not this. This was his domain, this was his playground, this was the final thing he wouldn't give up being in charge of. To his surprise she allowed him.

His lips didn't leave her body but instead they went down her neck and shoulders as he walked her into the bedroom. He was fast to get her out of the schoolgirl uniform and then he took a step back, just watching her as she removed the knife and put it on the nightstand. He didn't dare touch that thing, not even in a heated moment like this.

As soon as she turned around, he was over her again, tearing her underwear from her body, leaving her completely naked in front of him. He didn't waste any time as he got out of his own clothes, pushed her down on the bed and let his hands explore her body while kissing her.

His hand made its way between her legs quickly. He smiled against her lips as she parted her legs and he felt how wet she was. He pushed two fingers in with ease, drawing moan after moan from her lips while she held on tight to him.

"Just let go," he whispered as he felt her get near.

He kissed down her neck again and nippled on her earlobe as his fingers continued working her until she finally arched her back and moaned out loudly as she came. When she opened her eyes again, he was one huge smile to look at.

"What?" She asked.  
"Nothing. Just feel like I'm back in charge of something in my life again. Now, keep making those sweet noises for me, please," he said as he rolled on top of her.


	4. Tell the boys

It had been a week. One amazing week that had gone by way too fast. He had spent every moment she would allow him to in bed with her and there still weren't enough moments for his liking. He wanted more, he wanted everything, he wanted her. But in between her working through the papers and him running around with his busy schedule, there just weren't enough moments to keep him satisfied. He was happy, more than he had ever been before, but that woman was just too addictive to him.

He walked in to find her as he found her every morning, sitting on the couch going through the papers. The tip of the knife lingered on her bottom lip, a thing he now knew she did whenever she was either in deep thought or worried about something. He knew the feeling. He drummed his collarbone, she placed the knife on her lip.

"Morning," he said as he sat down next to her.

She placed the knife on the table in front of them and smiled at him before leaning in to give him a quick kiss.

"What's up with the knife?" He asked.  
"It's my knife," she answered.  
"I know that but what's the deal about it? Why won't you let anyone touch it?" He asked.  
"It was my father's," she answered.  
"So he gave it to you?" He asked.  
"Not exactly. I took it. My father had a big knife collection but this one..." She said and took the knife from the table. "This one was his favourite. When they died, I took the knife and hid it in my bag before I was sent into fostercare."  
"Shit. Sorry for bringing up bad memories," he said.

He got up and placed himself behind her so she sat between his legs while he started rubbing her shoulders.

"So how did they die?" He asked softly, hoping she wouldn't be mad at him for asking.  
"Car accident. One rainy night the road was slippery and the car went over the bridge. They drowned," she answered.  
"Fuck, I'm so sorry," he said lowly.

He stopped rubbing her shoulders and instead put his arms around her stomach, pulled her near and kissed her between the shoulder blades.

"It's okay. It was ten years ago. I was 13," she said.

He wanted to ask more and get to know her full story and she sensed it and quickly changed the subject. She picked up a piece of paper.

"So, good news and bad news. Good news is that every wrestler is in the clear. Bad news is that I still have these five names of backstage workers it can be," she said and handed him the paper.

He went over the names. He knew who they were but he had no idea which one of them might be his own personal tormentor. He couldn't really see any of those five people wanting to kill him but he knew that things worked differently in a psychopath's world.

"Sam? Hey, it's Annabelle," she said.

He hadn't noticed her taking out her phone to call.

"I'm sending you five names. Run them through the database for me. That's good, Sam. Send me the results as quickly as you got them. Bye," she said.

He sighed behind her and she turned her head to look at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked.  
"I need to tell my friends. It's one thing to have you and my boss in my corner but I really need my friends too," he answered.  
"Don't they know about the threats already?" She asked.  
"Yes, everyone knows about that but they don't know about you," he answered.  
"Dean, no," she said.  
"Please, Annabelle. Just Roman and Seth. It's driving me crazy to lie to them. Anyone else I don't care about but I need my two friends in this," he was almost begging.

She got up and paced the room for a few seconds, the knife back on her lip while thinking it through. He just watched her closely, waiting for her answer. She finally put the knife behind her back where it usually was.

"Okay," she said.  
"Okay?" He asked.  
"Get them over here," she said.

He pulled out his phone and quickly texted them to come to his room. Shortly after Roman and Seth were seated on the couch just looking at Dean and Annabelle standing there on the floor.

"Are you gonna say something? What's so important?" Roman asked.  
"Right, this is Annabelle," Dean started.  
"We already met her several times," Seth said confused.  
"You haven't met the real Annabelle. You've met the lie that I had to give you. It's just easier if she shows you," he said and turned his head to look at her. "Annabelle?"

She nodded and pulled out the knife. Before Roman or Seth could make a comment she threw it through the room and sent it into the wall. Both men jumped backwards in the couch as they first stared at the knife and then at her.

"You've outdone yourself in the psycho department this time, Dean," Seth said.  
"She's not a psycho. She's my... well, like a bodyguard but not quite," Dean said.  
"Explain," Roman said.  
"Remember I told you Stephanie sent me to that meeting? Well, Annabelle came back with me after that meeting. I told you guys I walked out of that place without accepting their help. I lied. Annabelle is my help," Dean explained.  
"So you're not really together?" Roman asked.  
"Yes... or no... well, we weren't but now we are. Okay, that part is a bit more complicated. We weren't when you asked in the gym and we weren't supposed to at all but we somehow ended up that way still," Dean answered.  
"Of course. It's Dean. What did you you expect?" Seth chuckled and poked Roman in the side with his elbow.

Dean walked over to them, grabbed the paper with the five names from the table and handed it to them.

"She's worked her way down to these five names. It's one of them," he said and sat down on the chair across from the couch.  
"We'll help you keep an eye on them," Roman said.

Seth got up and walked towards the knife in the wall.

"Wow, that was truly a nice throw," he said.

He reached his hand towards it.

"Don't!" Dean yelled.

Seth immetiately stopped and turned to look at him.

"Don't ever touch her knife," Dean said.  
"Why not?" Seth asked.

She walked over and pulled it out of the wall.

"Because it's mine," she answered.

Dean got up and walked over and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"Is it possible to get 15 minutes alone with the guys? I promise we'll stay here with the door locked," he looked at her with pleading eyes.  
"Of course. I'm gonna go shower meanwhile," she said.  
"Thanks," he said.

They all watched her disappear into the bathroom and shortly after the water started running.

"So?" Roman asked and smirked.  
"I like her. I mean, I really like her, like I've never liked anyone this way before," Dean answered.  
"Hey Seth? Do you see what I see?" Roman asked teasingly.  
"Totally. Our boy is in love for the first time," Seth chuckled.


	5. Catering guy

They sat in catering next morning when her phone buzzed. She discreetly took it out and opened the text from Sam. Her heart dropped as a face appeared on the screen with everything he'd done written underneath it. Apparently he wasn't new in the stalking game. That wasn't the reason for her heart to drop though. The reason was that she had just looked at him seconds before since he was standing in catering making food for everyone in there.

She looked up again and locked eyes with him right away. He was staring at her and both their eyes gave them away. She knew that he knew, and he knew that she knew. With what she had just read about him, she knew he would have investigated her the second he saw her next to Dean and he had probably known about her for some time now.

Without breaking eye contact, a little smirk appeared on his face as he reached for the knife next to him. She shook her head slightly and motioned her finger around the room to point out everyone in there. It didn't stop him from holding the knife and slowly putting his arm down his body, the knife still in his hand, as he slowly started walking away from his spot.

She grabbed Dean's hand fast.

"Get up!" She growled.

Something in her voice made him get up right away. She pushed him behind her.

"Walk out the door as if everything is normal," she whispered.

Never taking her eyes off the man, her and Dean made their way out the door while the man slowly walked through the room towards them as if everything was normal. No one noticed what was happening.

The second they were out the door, she grabbed Dean's hand again.

"Run!" She growled.

They ran down the corridor together.

"What the fuck is going on?" He asked as they stopped around a corner.  
"You got a safe place in this building we can hide?" She asked as she peeked out from around the corner.  
"Yeah," he answered.  
"Take me there. Get your boys on the phone and ask them to meet us there. I'm not sure what that fucker can do with a knife so I might need back up," she said.

This time he took her hand as he led her through the place while talking on the phone with either Roman or Seth. She wasn't sure which one he had called and it didn't matter as long as they could get their fast.

"They're close by. They'll be here in less than a minute," he said as he opened a door to a room.  
"Good," she said as she locked the door behind them.

She noticed a door in the other end of the room and started walking towards it.

"Will you please tell me what's going on?" He asked.  
"It's that catering guy," she said as she reached the door.  
"Fuck!" He growled.

She turned her head to look at him.

"He's the one who told me about this room and said that no one uses it during the day," he said.

She knew she had messed up. Her eyes turned into an excuse before anything happened. She just knew it would right when she heard those words. She turned her head back around, hoping for a split second there was still time to reach for the lock on the door and turn it, but there wasn't. The door flew open and she felt a sharp pain in her stomach as the knife went into her.

A sound of pain left her lips. Not a scream, more like a muffled cry. Dean shouted her name in a voice of panic and somewhere she could hear someone banging on the other door screaming out Dean's name. Roman and Seth. They were there. She knew it. Not even a minute as promised and still it was too late.

Her left hand reached for the knife in her stomach but she knew she couldn't pull it out. She gasped as she heard Dean shout her name again and saw the man starting to move away from her. No, she wouldn't let him. She had one job and she was gonna succeed. Keep him safe. Her right hand went behind her back to pull out her own knife and before he even knew what was happening, she pushed it straight into his heart. The fight was over before it had even begun.

She dropped to her knees with tears in her eyes and saw Dean sprinting towards her. He helped her to lie down and when she looked up at him, she saw tears in his eyes too.

"Don't cry. Just... pull it out," she said.

He grabbed the knife but didn't move it.

"I don't wanna hurt you," he said.  
"I'm hurting right now," she hissed.  
"Fuck!" He shouted and then used all his strength to pull it out.

She screamed in pain as the blade went out of her body again. He pulled off his shirt and pressed down on the wound, seeing how his hands were turning red. The sound of wood breaking went through the room as Roman and Seth managed to break down the door.

"Fuck! Call 911!" Roman shouted as he ran towards them.

He took over with pressing the shirt down, allowing Dean to take her hands and try to calm her down. Behind them they heard Seth on the phone calling for help.

"You're safe," she said and smiled to him.  
"Thanks to you. You saved me. Now let me save you," he begged and ran a hand over her cheek.  
"Ambulance will be here shortly," Seth said as he came up to them. "Fuck, it doesn't look good."  
"I know. Hey Annabelle, we need you with us here. There's only so much we can do. You gotta fight with us, baby girl," Roman said.

She gritted her teeth.

"Annabelle! Not baby girl!" She hissed.  
"That's right. Get mad. That'll help you fight. Come on doll, get mad. Stay with me, sweetheart," Dean said.  
"Annabelle!" She hissed again.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I know. My Annabelle. But honey, I'm gonna continue calling you all the pet names I can think of until you make it through. You got that, doll? I swear to god if you die on me I'll put 'doll' on you tombstone," he said.  
"Asshole!" She sneered.

He laughed and ran his hand over her cheek again. He would let her call him asshole everyday for the rest of his life if only she made it through. She smiled at him and then she closed her eyes.

"No Annabelle, you gotta stay awake," he pleaded and tapped her cheek.  
"I'm so tired, Dean," she said in a low voice.  
"I know, sweetheart, but you gotta stay awake a little longer," he said.  
"We're losing her," Roman said with fear in his voice.  
"No!" Dean shouted.  
"Fuck, where is the god damn ambulance?" Seth sneered.  
"No!" Dean shouted again.  
"Dean..." Roman started and reached his hand towards him.  
"No!" Dean shouted as he pushed Roman's hand away. "No! No! No!"

Roman crawled closer to Dean and placed his hands on Dean's shoulders.

"Dean, she's gone," he said.  
"No!" Dean screamed and let out a cry like a wounded animal. "No! Annabelle, wake the fuck up! You gotta keep fighting!"

Seth was fast next to them and both men helped Dean up. He was sobbing and collapsed in Roman's arms.

Five days later Dean entered Sam's office again. They had held the funeral the same morning and Sam had asked Dean to come around when it was all over. Dean wasn't happy to be back. It was him stepping foot in this office that had started it all. It was him who had agreed to take her back with him. It was him that was the reason for her death. At least that's how he saw it.

Both men sat down on either side of the table just looking at each other at first. Sam cleared his throat and opened a drawer. He took out Annabelle's knife and held it in his hands, showing it to Dean.

"How did you get that?" Dean asked.  
"I got friends in the police department," Sam answered.

Sam sighed and leaned back.

"Did she ever tell you how she got to work for me?" He asked.

Dean shook his head. He had been meaning to ask that day where she told about her parents but she had changed the subject.

"I know everything up to her going into fostercare. That was all she told me," he said.

Sam smiled.

"Right, fostercare. That didn't do her any good. I met her a year later in a forest. She was throwing this knife against a tree. I watched her for a while. She was just so damn good and you can imagine my surprise when I learned she was only 14 and already knew her way around a knife," he said and chuckled.

Dean just nodded and Sam continued.

"We met a couple of times. Each time she told me more and more about this shit place she was put in. She hated it there. I did my research and quickly found out that she wasn't lying. She was just a young girl who needed someone to care for her so I asked her to come home with me," he said.  
"You adopted her?" Dean asked.  
"Not at all. She vanished from the face of the earth and was a missing person till she turned 18. When she was legal of age, she went to the police station herself and fed them a lie about running away. They took her off the missing person list and she stayed with me," Sam answered.

Sam leaned forward again, looking at Dean over the table.

"She was like a daughter to me though. Losing her felt like losing my reason to breathe," he said.  
"Me too," Dean said and let the tears run silently down his cheeks.

Sam reached the knife towards Dean.

"She would have wanted you to have this," he said.

Dean looked surprised.

"She doesn't let anyone touch her knife," he said.  
"I know but you're not anyone. You only knew her a week but you made one hell of impression on her during that week. Take it. I know my girl inside out. This is what she would have wanted," Sam said.

Dean slowly reached his hand forward, pausing for a moment before finally taking the knife. It wasn't as heavy as he had thought it to be but it wasn't light either. It felt just right.

"Thank you," he whispered.  
"No, thank you. Thank you for making her happy even if it only was for a short time," Sam said and smiled.


End file.
